Prior to delving into our evaluation of “Meg 2,” let us examine some amazing details on the Megalodon, the actual prehistoric shark that provides the movie’s inspiration. The Megalodon was as long as sixty feet (18 meters) and weighed as much as fifty tons (45 metric tons), according to extensive production notes from the studio. Its jaw was enormous enough to swallow two adults side by side, and its vertebrae resembled a dinner plate.

The comparison to Jack and Rose from “Titanic” is unavoidable given that huge jaw. James Cameron need to pay attention and welcome this possible debate. Whatever the case, Ben Wheatley’s “Meg 2: The Trench” features a plethora of characters who are eventually masticated, chomped, or eaten by the ferocious Megalodons.

Jason Statham, whose tough yet affable manner has a calming impact on the proceedings, is the film’s saving grace, though. While Statham can occasionally come across as stiff when interacting with other celebrities, in this role he truly shines and inhabits his element, adding much-needed charisma.

A flashback, and not just any old flashback, but one that transports us to the Cretaceous era, opens the film. We see lizards living and eventually developing into dinosaurs. After wreaking devastation, a massive dinosaur is eventually devoured whole by a Megalodon, who treats it like a lunch. It’s a well-earned comical moment.

In the present, we encounter Jonas Taylor (Statham), a skilled diver, environmentalist, and shark-battler who is back in action after nearly dying on the open ocean. Though he is no longer with his last movie’s love interest, Jonas is now raising Meiyin, her 14-year-old daughter, and his heart is with them.

Here comes Meiyin’s uncle, Jiuming Zhang (Chinese action actor and director Wu Jing), a rιsk-taking, daring person. He chooses, for example, to play with the caged Megalodon by plunging into the tank at the Mauna One research facility. He laughs off the threаt and barely avoids deаth in front of Meiyin and the others.

The real rιsk, however, arises when the scientists deploy their two submarines to reach “the trench,” a region of the ocean that the thermocline has closed off at a depth of precisely 25,000 feet (7,620 meters). They come upon more Megalodons there, larger, more terrifying ones. Jonas has to rely on his resourcefulness to live as they become stuck due to cunning adversaries, a mole in their organization, a sabotaged rescue ship, and dubious decision-making.

The group must put on EV suits and traverse the perilous trench while walking—yes, walking—as their oxygen supply quickly runs out. Their objective is to get to a hidden location where the bad guys are mining a valuable resource, but even after Jiuming gives a brief explanation, it is still unclear what exactly the treasure is. When he says that some of it is worth $1 billiоn, Jonas replies, “Billiоn with a B?” in the film’s witty banter.

They survive and return to the surface, which is miraculous because the last hour of the movie wouldn’t exist otherwise. The finale takes place in a beach resort called “Fun Island,” which is appropriately named. It is crowded with tourists who are set to face an onslaught by dinosaurs in addition to Megalodons! Because dinosaurs are always a good idea—as “Transformers: Age of Extinction” demonstrates.

Now, in addition to Megalodons, Jonas and his group are figҺting dinosaurs and—oh yeah—a really enormous octopus. Frequently making an appearance, these tentacled beasts provide viewers the much-awaited cоnfrоntatiоn between a gigantic shark and a gigantic octopus.

Someone quips, cheekily referencing the first movie, “I just hope this goes better than last time,” at one point. It is hazardous to use such a sentence in a sequel, though, as things rarely go better than the first time. They don’t in this instance either, but at least the movie is upfront about its objective to provide more intense action. (By the way, Jonas uses a jet ski equipped with harpoons to actually jump a shark.)

Statham’s unwavering presence acts as the glue that holds everything together throughout. You should avoid becoming very attached to anyone’s connective tissue here, though.

The Motion Picture Association has rated “Meg 2: The Trench,” a Warner Bros. Pictures production, PG-13 “for action/viоlence, some bloody images, language, and brief suggestive material.” It has 116 minutes of running time. Two out of four stars is what we give it.